Grace McCarthy

In the 1960s, McCarthy was a popular elected member of the City of Vancouver Parks Board and instrumental in the creation of the VanDusen Botanical Gardens.[2] She was actively recruited to run for a seat in the Provincial Legislature by then Premier of the Province W.A.C. Bennett. In an attempt to improve his hold on power, Bennett promised that any woman elected to the legislature while he was in power would become a member of his Cabinet. In 1966, she successfully campaigned and was elected along with Les Peterson to co-represent the dual member riding of Vancouver-Little Mountain. Bennett made McCarthy a Cabinet Minister without portfolio, as well as Pat Jordan and Isabel Dawson.

McCarthy was later a senior cabinet minister, serving in a variety of portfolios, in the governments of Premiers Bill Bennett (1975–86) and Bill Vander Zalm from 1986 until her resignation from cabinet in 1988. As deputy premier her portfolios included economic development, provincial secretary, human resources, social services, and tourism.

In 1968, she successfully lobbied both the Canadian federal and British Columbian provincial governments to broaden home ownership credit legislation to include single, divorced and widowed women without the need for a male guarantor. In addition, her many achievements included the following: lobbied to bring Expo ’86 to Vancouver; established Canada’s first linear parkway and SkyTrain; negotiated lighting on the Lions Gate Bridge; spearheaded construction of the Vancouver Trade & Convention Centre at Canada Harbour Place; initiated Canada’s first toll-free help line for abused children; brought the most comprehensive legislation to stop child abuse in the country; and initiated BC’s first film promotion office.

In 1982, McCarthy was suspected of interfering in the re-drawing of the electoral boundaries of her Little Mountain constituency, to include an appendage of a wealthy Westside area of Vancouver, helping ensure her electoral success. This appendage and subsequent scandal became known as Gracie's Finger. The actual area in question was between 16th and 33rd Avenues in Vancouver around the Arbutus Street corridor. In 1986, she parlayed the idea to illuminate the main cables of Vancouver's Lions Gate Bridge and arranged private-sector sponsorship by the Guinness family, the bridge's builders and original owners.

McCarthy is credited with revitalizing B.C.’s Social Credit party after its first electoral defeat to the NDP in the 1972 provincial election. As Socred party president in 1973, she increased membership in the party from 5,000 to 70,000 in two years.  Her efforts to promote British Columbia made her well regarded across the political spectrum.  As the first woman in Canada appointed deputy premier, she was a pioneer whose successes laid a foundation for future women in provincial politics. Her work in lobbying for and preparing the city for the World Exposition in 1986 ushered in Vancouver’s modern era and changed the landscape of the city forever.     

The Social Credit Party of British Columbia was never able to truly consolidate their power. Alone without federal or municipal counterparts, they fought for 30 years to maintain power in British Columbia. By 1986, even with a World Exposition coming to see the province, the cracks within the party structure were virtually irreparable. Bill Bennett retired amid indications that the Socreds faced almost certain defeat in a statutory election due that year. In the ensuing leadership race, McCarthy came third, behind Brian Smith and winner Bill Vander Zalm. Although the Socreds won another term later that year, in hindsight that leadership race marked the beginning of the end for the party.

By 1991, when Premier Vander Zalm was forced to resign amid scandal allegations, the Socreds had become bitterly divided. Socred members elected Deputy Premier Rita Johnston, a close ally of Vander Zalm, as their new leader, over McCarthy. Many viewed this as a mistake, as Johnston was close to the Vander Zalm legacy; even provincial NDP leader Mike Harcourt admitted later that he preferred Johnston over McCarthy, as the latter would be a much tougher opponent in an election. Johnston lost the 1991 provincial election badly, with the party only winning third-place status in the legislature. Johnston even lost her own seat and resigned as leader shortly thereafter. McCarthy was chosen to replace her.

However, McCarthy had no seat in the legislature, and the Socreds were in danger of being dismissed as an increasingly irrelevant political force in British Columbia. She missed a chance to re-enter the legislature when she lost a by-election in 1994 [3] by 42 votes in the provincial riding of Matsqui, formerly a Socred stronghold. Social Credit lost official party status in the BC Legislature when four of the remaining six MLAs left the party to join the fledgling BC Reform Party. She stepped down as leader in later 1994 amid further infighting. In the 1996 election the Socreds lost all their remaining seats, never to return.

In 1992, she was made an Officer of the Order of Canada. In 2004, she was awarded the Order of British Columbia.

McCarthy died on May 24, 2017 at age 89 after a lengthy battle with a brain tumor.[4][5]

Prior to her death, McCarthy was Chairman of the Board of Directors of the CH.I.L.D. Foundation (Children with Intestinal and Liver Disorders). McCarthy began the charity in 1995 with Mary McCarthy Parsons (her daughter) and J. Lindsay Gordon.[6]

This collection of scrapbooks contains photographs, correspondence, newspaper clippings, magazine articles, press releases, ephemera, and other material dating from 1960 to 1991.  The scrapbooks document the political landscape of British Columbia during this period, in particular the activities of the Social Credit party; events, initiatives, and causes in Vancouver and provincially; state visits; McCarthy's viewpoint on particular issues and her most notable achievements, referenced above; her political and charitable activities; leadership campaigns; and her personal and political relationships. Correspondence includes exchanges with fellow politicians at the provincial, national and international level (e.g., W.A.C. Bennett and Margaret Thatcher); her constituents, residents of British Columbia, and party members; and the local business community.     

The Grace McCarthy Scrapbook collection was compiled by Grace herself and consists of 89 scrapbooks that are now a part of the Simon Fraser University Special Collections and Rare Books holdings. In 2019, this collection was digitized and could be freely accessed at Grace McCarthy Scrapbook Collection.

• Order of British Columbia biography
• Some records of Grace McCarthy are held by Simon Fraser University's Special Collections and Rare Books
• Grace McCarthy was tough, inspiring and worthy of remembrance Gary Mason, The Globe and Mail, 26 May 2017
• Grace McCarthy Scrapbook Collection